


Permission to Hug

by ChokolatteJedi



Category: NCIS
Genre: Asphyxiation, Attempted Murder, Canon-Typical Violence, Community: hc_bingo, Episode Tag, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-09
Updated: 2012-12-09
Packaged: 2017-11-20 18:09:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/588224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChokolatteJedi/pseuds/ChokolatteJedi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Permission to hug, sir?"<br/>"You never have to ask, Abs."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Permission to Hug

**Author's Note:**

> For the h/c Bingo prompt "Hugs."

Gibbs walked off the elevator and glanced around the lab garage. Immediately his gaze was drawn to the SUV, where Abby was trapped inside, yelling for help. Dropping his coffee, he ran for her door. He wasn't going to let this thing kill again, and he certainly wasn't going to let anyone hurt Abbs. He tugged on the handle with all his might, but it wouldn't open.

Abby pointed at the kill switch, and Gibbs glanced around for a way to get to it. The emergency alarm was right above a fire extinguisher and he raced for it as McGee struggled out of his seat. The rest was a blur until he had a gasping Abby in his arms.

"Permission to hug, sir?" she asked, squeezing him for dear life as he pulled her out of the SUV.

"You never have to ask, Abs," he replied, clutching her almost as tightly. He was surging with adrenaline, but the thought of losing her still ricocheted through him. They clung to each other, and Gibbs found himself mentally damning this car, and its creator, and that stupid woman this morning who told Abby she couldn't be herself in the first place.

After dispatching the team, he escorted her down to Ducky, aware of Ziva supporting her on the other side. He wanted to demand that the other agent get away from his Abby, and go find the culprit, but by the way Abs was leaning against him, perhaps she could use the extra support.

Once they were down in the morgue, he did take advantage of the private space to send Ziva away, and then sat beside Abby as Ducky began his examination. He draped one arm over her shoulders, and hers was wrapped tightly around his waist as they explained to the Medical Examiner what had happened upstairs.

Ducky was shocked, but he quickly got down to business with his job and started the examination. In the time it took him to confirm that there would be no lasting damage, either from the seatbelt or from the gas, both Abby and Gibbs had calmed down. He could feel it in the way she relaxed against him, instead of clutching at him, her thin fingers digging into his side. He also knew that his own adrenaline high had ebbed, as he no longer wanted to go kill the perp with his bare hands. Now he would settle for actual justice from their justice system. Still, he needed to feel her in his arms for just a little longer, to reassure himself that she really was fine.

Finished with his assessment, Ducky decreed that Abby could go back to the lab, provided that she did nothing dangerous, but he did ask that she not be left alone for a while. There was a chance, albeit a small one, that she had been an intended victim, which instantly put Gibbs back on alert. No way was anyone going to try to kill his girl again. There was also a chance that there would be lingering side effects from the gas, such as coughing, mild headache, and so on, for which Ducky also wanted someone on hand, just in case.

Gibbs nodded, mentally arranging the rest of their day into shifts to make sure Abby was never alone. As he escorted her from the morgue back to the garage, he hugged her again, eager to indulge in that last comfort before the elevator doors opened.

As she stepped back into the garage, a reasonable facsimile of her usual self, Gibbs chucked his finger under her chin. "Hey," he whispered, "remember, any time you need one..."

"Don't ask?" Abby replied with a smile.

"That's my girl."


End file.
